Railway-crossing signal



Aug. 26, 1924.-

E. T. PARKER RAILWAY CROSS ING SIGNAL Filed March 24. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwwnfot Ym` a1- TQ Parke 1".

E. T. PARKER RAILWAY GRQSSING SIGNAL Aug. 26 1924.

Filed March 24. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2- Ed ar T Parker.

Patented Aug. 26, 1924.

UNITED STATES isoza PATENT OFFICE.

RAILWAYGROSSING SIGNAL.

Application led March 24, 1923. Serial No. 627,450.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR T. Planner., a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Crossing Signals, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in signals and more particularly to a railway crossing signal..

The main object of my invention is the provision of a railway crossing signal which is adapted to be operated by a train approaching the crossing'. and whereby the operation will produce.v an audible and visible signal so as to give warning of the approaching train.

In the past a great many lives have been lost at raiA way crossings owing te the fact that the persons had not been properly warned of the approaching trains, and it is one of the main objects of my' invention to provide a. railway crossing signal which includes both visible and audible signals, whereby should the audible signal device become out of order and inoperative, the visible signal will be operated to warn the persons of an approaching train, and also wherein the audible signal could be operated should the visible signal become out of order.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a railroad crossing signal including in its construction means arranged adjacent the rails adapted to be engaged by the wheels of the rolling stock for operating a. visible and an audible signal7 said means being arranged a suitable distance from the crossing, so that upon the approach of a train, any one attempt-ing to cross the railway track will be promptly warned of the approaching train.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a signal of the above character including both audible and visible signal means adapted to be positively operated through contact with the rolling stock of an approaching train, s0 as to synchronously produce both audible and visible signals.

lVith the above and other objects in View, the invention consists in the novel features of construction, the combination and a'rrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in the claims and shown in the accompanying drawings, in whichi Figure l is a vertical sectional view, taken through the supporting post illustrating parts of the operating mechanism in elevation.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view, taken through the supporting post and looking down upon the operating mechanism.

Figure 3 is a side elevation looking from one side of the track and illustrating the relative position of the signal and means for operating the same.

ligure l is a top plan View of Figure 3, an

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view of one of the railway rails, illustrating the position of the operating foot with respect to the rails and showing the same in its depressed position, when engaged by the `flange of the car wheel.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings in which reference characters are used to designate the several parts through out the views, the numeral l indicates the usual railway rail, supported upon the ties 2.

In placing my improved signal device in position, it is preferred to have duplicate signals placed upon opposite sides of the track, but for the purpose of illustration T have illustrated only one signal in connection with the track. In the construction and mounting of the signal I provide a hollow supporting post 8, which is adapted to house and support the operating' mechanism for the signal. This post 3 may be supported in any suitable manner and arranged alongside the traclr at a railway crossing and is provided adjacent its upper end with oppositely disposed openings 4 for the reception of a supporting and operating shaft 5, said openings forming' suitable bearings for the ends of the shaft. Disposed at right angles to the openings l and arranged upon opposite sides of the post 3 are the projecting bearing sleeves 6, which form a continuation -for suitable openings in the post, said sleeves and openings being provided with screw threads 7 adapted to sleeves 8 and keyed `to the shaft 5 'for movement therewith. Upon rotation of the shaft 5, "the teeth 11 formed upon the periphery of the operating wheel 10 will engage with the "aiivils '12 carried by the diaphragme 1153 lso as to produce an audible signal. The diaphragm's 18 are arranged in abutting relation against the inner ends of the sleeves 8 and secured in this :position by means of the eaps '14, which arethreaded over the reduced extended ends of the sleeves 8 and provided with inwardly extending annular flanges 15 whichl contact with the diaphragm 13fto retain the saine in position against the ends of the sleeves. It will be apparent rthat when the audible signal is produced by the rotation of the wheel 10, the soun'd thereof 'will 'be carried out through the megaphones 9.

Mounted upon the shaft 5 and arranged upon one side of the wheel 10, is a ratchet 16, said ratchet being keyed or otherwise secured to the shaft 5 whereby any rotary movement imparted to the ratchetwill be conveyed tothe shaft. In order to impart movement to the ratchet 15, a movable pawl 17 is arranged within the supporting 'post andadapted for engagement with the teeth of the ratchet. This pawl 17 is normally retained in la raised position and against the ratchet wheel 16, as shown in Figure 1 by means of the'coil spring 18, one end of which is connected to thepawl as at 19 and the'other end thereof connected to a supporting plate mounted upon the upper end of the post 3.' rlhe supporting plate 19 is retained in position upon the upper end of thefpost by means of the cap 2O which is threaded onto the post toY close the upper end thereof and also to retain the plate 19 in position.

Assh'own in Figure 1, the 'pawl 17 has downwardly inclined shank portionv 21 pivotally'c'onnected vto the upper end of a reciprocating rod 22. This rod 22 is mounted for sliding movement within the post 8 by means of the bearings 23 which are arrangedl in spaced relation at one side of the post. From this it will be apparent that upon reciprocating the rod ,22, the pawl 17 will'be re'ciprooated-y to rotate theratchet 13 which in turn "will impart la rotary movement to the shaft 5 and wheel 10, producing an audible sound through the vibrating diaphragm 13.

In order to provi le for a visible signal, the cross arms 24 are secured to the outer lend of the shaft 5 upon the exterior of the post 3, said arms being lkeyed or otherwise conf nected vto the shaft in any suitable manner, so that upon rotation of the shaft the arms 24 will revolve, or rotate with the shaft. If found desirable, suitable indicia may be inscribed upon one face of each of the arms 24 so that the saine will be visible to persons approaching the 'railway' crossing, should the operating mechanism become so disabled vthat a rotary movement will not be imparted to the arm for producing a suitable visible signal. lt is preferred, however, to have the 'arms 24 of an attractive color, so that they will readily draw the attention of persons approaching the railway crossing upon rotation of the arms to warn the persons of the approach of a train. The shaft 5 is securely retained in position by having the nuts 25 threaded upon the ends thereof, and suitable bearing plates26 are disposed between the nuts 25 and the outer surface of the housing 26 as well Vas being` arranged `between the post and the rotating arms 24. I

In order to provide means for imparting movement to the operating mechanism for i producing the audible and visible signal,`

suitable means is arranged at a point vdistant from the crossing and adapted to be engaged by the flanges or wheels of the vrolling stock for imparting movement to 'the operating mechanism. lThis means in the present instances comprises a substantially rigid bar which is boltedor otherwise 'se'- cured to the flanges of the rails 1 as shown @ne end of each of the bars 28 are provided with yieldable arcuateportions129,

the outer end of which is disposed slightly below the base of thefrail and has connected theretoa wire which leads to the lreciprocating rod 22. rElie'intermediateportion of the arcuate members 29 arepreferably arranged alongside thetread'of the rail, land if found desirable may be, when ina normal position, disposed slightly above the tread with suitable pits 80 to ieceivejthe ends of the members when depressed.- l

Suitable connections between tl-ie reciprocating rod 22 an'd tliemembeis 29 isrprovided for, by means of the wires 31 and 32, each of which are connected to the eye formed upon the lower end of the rod 22, said wires then extending over the supporting pulleys 34 and after passing over the pulleys 34 extend out through a suitable opening 35 formed in the post 3 and in order to prevent any displacement on the part of the wires 31 and 32 they are extended through suitable casings 36 which are preferably arranged upon the inside of the rails and extended into one end of each of the pits 30. The wires 31 and 32 upon leaving the ends of the casings 36 are extended over suitable pulleys 37 and then connected to the lower end of the arcuate members 29 whereby it will be apparent that when the members 29 are depressed or moved downwardly as shown in the dotted lines in Figure 3, the rod 22 will be reciproca-ted, imparting a rotary movement to the ratchet 16 and shaft 5. As the wheel 10 and the arm 2e are connected to the shaft 5, a visible and audible signal will be produced synchronously. As the wheels of the car pass over the members 29 and release the same so that they will pass upwardly to the full line position shown in Figure 2, the coil spring 18 will move the pawl 17 upwardly to its uppermost position as shown in Figure 1, whereby the consecutive downward movement of the member 29 will reciprocate the rod 22 bringing the pawl downward to rotate the ratchet 16.

Attention is called to the fact that when lthe wheels of the fast approaching train contact with the members 29 in rapid succession, suflicient momentum will be imparted to the shaft 5 to provide for continuous rotation of the same without interruption until the entire train has passed over the track at the point where the members 29 are located. From this it will be apparent that a continuous audible and visible signal will inform persons that the train is approaching the crossing. ln order that the arcuate members or feet 29 may be operated. without interference from any part of the rails to which they are attached, the members 29 are bent outwardly away from the rails as clearly illustrated in Figure 5, so that the lower end thereof will readily pass the base flange of the rail and project downwardly into the pits 30. ln order to provide foil suitable protection on the part of the wires 31 and 32 when the post 3 is located a short distance from the track so as not to interfere with the passing train, the casing 38 connects the post with the casings 3b and in passing` the wires from the casino' 33 to the casing 36 they are extended around a suitable pulley 39. rlhis pulley 39 is of the double type, so that the wires 31 and 32 when passing aro-und the pulley may be extended in opposite directions whereby pulling movement upon either one of the wires 31 and 32 will reciprocate the rod 22 and actuate the pawl and ratchet 16 and l? for rotating the shaft 5 and wheel 1() for simultaneously producing an audible and visible signal.

From the above description, it will be readily apparent that l have provided a simple and improved signal which is par ticularly adapted `for use at railway crossings, whereby persons approaching a crossing will be warned upon approaching the crossing of the approach of a train through the audible and visible signals produced by having the wheels of the Vtrain engage the arcuate members 29 and imparting a rotary movement to the shaft 5 and wheels 1i). is soon as the train has passed the point at which the members 29 are located, the shaft 5 which has gained momentum through the successive operation of the pawl 17 will begin to slow down, but will not entirely stop until after the train has passed the crossing, and it is thought from this that any person approaching the crossing will be given sufficient warning to the fact that the train is approaching or passing the crossing. The device in itself is comparatively simple and cheap to manufacture and can be readily arranged to cooperate with the rolling stoclr of railways.

attention is called to the fact that while l have shown the use of the depressible foot member 29 for actuating the operating means which. controls the s'gnal, other means may be utilized for operating the signal mechanism with but very little change in the mechanism itself.

While l have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, l wish it to be understood that various changes and alterations may be carried out without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope ot the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A signalling device including a supporting element, a rotatable shaft carried thereby, a visible signal supported by the shaft, an audible signal carried by the supporting element, means carried by the shaft having cooperative engagement with the audible signal to actuate the same upon movement oit the shaft, a ratchet upon the shaft, a pawl for engagement with the ratchet, in combination with vertically mov able actuating members, and means for connecting said members with the pawl whereby downward movement of the actuating members will actuate the pawl to rotate the shaft and simultaneously actuate the signals.

2. In a signalling device, a supporting element, a shaft carried thereby, a visible signal carried by the shajt, audible signal members carried by the supporting elements and including a vibrating diaphragm, anvils carried by said diaphragm, a toothed wheel arranged up'on the shaft tor rotation therewith and adapted t0 'engage the anvils whereby rotation ot the sharlt will simultaneously produce a visible and audible signal, and means tor imparting movement to the shaft.

3. In a signalling device, a supporting element, a rotatable shaft carried thereby, a visible signal supported by the shaft, an audible signal carried by the supporting element, means upon the shaft having cooperative connection with the audible signal to actuate the same upon rotation ot the shaft, a ratchet carried by the shaft, a pawl tor engaging the ratchet, spring means norn'ially retaining the pawl in a raised position and in engagement with the ratchet, and means tor actuating the pawl to rotate the shaft and simultaneousljvy actuate the signal.

4L. ln a signalling device, a supporting element, a rotatable shaft carried thereby, and a visible sigi'ial supported by the shatt, a ratchet carried by the shatt, a pawl tor engaging the ratchet, spring means normally retaining the pawl in a raised position and in engagement with the ratchet, and means tor actuating the pawl to rotate the shaft.

5. In a signalling device, a supporting element, a rotatable shaft carried thereby, an audible signal carried by the supporting element, means upon the shat't having cooperative connection with the audible signal to actuate the same upon rotation of the shaft, a ratchet carried by the shaft, a pawl tor engaging the ratchet, spring means normally retaining the pawl in a raised position, and in engagement with the ratchet,

and means for actuating the pawl to rotate the shaft and actuate the signal.

6. Alsignalling device including a support, a rotatable shaft carried thereby, a signal operated when the sha-tt is rotating, a ratchet carried: by said shaft, apawl tor engaging the ratchet, a vertically moving actuating member, and means connecting said actuating member with the pawl whereby downward movement of the actuating member will actuate the pawl to rotate the shaft and cause actuation of the signal.

Y. In a signalling device a support, a shaft rotatably carried by said support, a signaloperated by rotation ot the shaft, a ratchet carried by said shaft, a pawl engaging the ratchet, spring means normally retaining the pa-wl in a raised position and in engagement with the ratchet, and means for drawing the pawl downwardly to rotate the shaft and cause acutation ot the signal.

8. In a signalling device a support, a shaft rotatably carried thereby, a signal actuated when the shaft is rotated, a ratchet carried by the shaft, a pawl for engaging the ratchet, a vertically disposed rod slidably carried by said support andl having its upper end pivotally connected with the lower end of said ratchet, spring means positioned above the ratchet and having its upper end connected with the support and its lower end connected. with the pawl to normally retain the pawl in a raised position and in engagement with the ratchet and means connected with the lower end of EDGAR T. PARKER. 

